


Echoes of the Past

by benjaminrussell



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29080611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: The Ministry of Time is a secret government department charged with keeping history on course and stopping rogue time travellers. Chimney, Hen, and Buck are a team of Ministry agents, whose latest mission is to stop a prohibition bust succeeding and to track down the time traveller suspected of causing the change.They find the man easily enough, but then it quickly becomes evident that he isn’t what they thought, and to get history back on track they’ll have to team up with their target…
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41
Collections: 9-1-1 Server Gift Exchange 2020





	Echoes of the Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nearly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nearly/gifts).



> My gift for Nearly for the 911 Server Exchange. I saw you mention on tumblr that you wanted a Buddie Time Travel AU, so of course I decided to combine that with one of your requests, and this is the result. :P Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to myemergence for beta reading!

Pushing open the door that read ‘Ministry of Time - Section 118 Captain: Bobby Nash’, Buck gave a sheepish smile and quickly sidled up to his teammates, joining Hen and Chimney in front of Bobby’s desk. “Sorry, I was over in Medical when I got your summons.”

“You know, Abby’s not coming back.” Chimney gave Buck a somewhat judging, somewhat pitying look, ignoring Hen’s elbow to his side.

Buck resisted the urge to stick his middle finger up, given they were in the captain’s office, and instead just retorted, “My sister has just started working here as a nurse actually. I was making sure she was settling in okay.”

Bobby cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him so he could actually start the briefing. “If you’re all ready…?”

“Yes, Cap.”

“Sorry, Cap.”

Once Bobby was happy that he had the team’s undivided attention, he set a manila folder on the desk in front of them and flipped it open before summarising the contents.

“A timeline change has been detected in 1922 LA. Two years after Prohibition was introduced, a planned speakeasy bust was foiled by a bootlegger called Henry Levard overhearing the revenue agents discussing their plan. In our timeline, this barely even made the local newspaper, however Mr Levard has gone missing and the ripples from the successful bust will drastically impact how Prohibition was enforced in the city.” Bobby paused while the team passed the folder between them, scanning the details in the file.

Buck snagged the photo clipped to the inside of the front of the folder and studied it. It was a photo of a man a little older than Buck himself, who looked to be of Latino descent, and in the privacy of his own mind, Buck admitted was extremely good looking. If Buck saw him in a bar, he’d definitely be angling to get the man’s number.

“Who’s this?” He asked, refocusing himself on the job at hand.

“We haven’t got a name, but he’s the most likely cause of the timeline change. Intelligence thinks he’s responsible for Mr Levard going missing, and also, that he may well be an unauthorised time traveller.” Bobby leant back in his chair, watching the team’s reactions to that bit of information.

“Another time traveller? Damn.” Hen gestured for Buck to hand over the photo, almost snatching it out of his hand in her impatience to see the person who would be the focal point of their mission.

“Your mission is to fix the timeline and if at all possible, apprehend the time traveller and bring him back for questioning. The door you need, and all the information we have on the event is in the file. Any questions?” Bobby looked at them expectantly for a few moments before deciding that no questions were forthcoming. “In that case, head to Wardrobe and get on with it. Good luck!”

“Thanks, Cap. See you later.” Chimney slipped the photo back into the file, closed it, and then led the way out of Bobby’s office.

“That’s a good-looking man, and I like girls,” Hen commented as soon as the door was shut behind them, shooting a cheeky grin at Buck and making it clear that she knew exactly what he’d been thinking when inspecting the picture of their target.

This time Buck didn’t hold back and flipped her off, before darting ahead of her and Chimney. “See you down there!”

A while later, once they were all dressed in period appropriate clothing and had had a chance to read through the mission file, the three of them headed to the basement and the seemingly endless levels of corridors just filled with door after door that comprised the Ministry of Time’s most closely guarded secret – their ability to time travel. Each door led to a different time and place, with time flowing behind the door at the same rate as in the Ministry, which meant that there was a whole system in place to monitor the current endpoint of each door. It also meant that sometimes agents would have to wait or travel to get to their actual destination. Luckily, that wasn’t the case for this mission. There was a door that would take them to LA, only a handful of blocks away from the speakeasy, a few days before the ‘revenue agents’ as they were commonly known were due to attempt their bust. That should give the team plenty of time to investigate and get history back on track.

“Door 238,” Hen read from the file, before slipping it into her large handbag. She led the way to the floor and then the corridor they wanted, before heading down the corridor, counting off doors as they went. They passed a couple of people dressed as conquistadors and exchanged nods of greeting, and then a lone man in revolutionary war attire, who Chimney recognised and held his hand out to for a handshake.

“Hey Tommy, how you doing?”

“Glad to be back in the present,” Tommy replied with a laugh as he knocked his fist against Chimney’s. “Where y’all off to?”

“The 1920s, so at least we’ll have running water.” Chimney grinned in reply.

“Always a bonus! Anyway, catch you later, I can’t wait to get out of these clothes and have a shower.” Tommy waved and continued on his way to the stairs, leaving the team to their mission.

They reached door 238 and huddled around it, giving each other a final once over to make sure there was nothing that would make them look out of place in the time they were heading to. Hen straightened Buck’s tie, and then Chimney knocked on the doorframe as their traditional start of mission signal.

“Let’s go.” Chimney pulled the door open and led the way through, nodding at the young man loitering in the alley that the door led to. “Hey Espo, what you got for us?”

Buck pulled the door closed behind him and spared a moment to just take in their surroundings while Chimney spoke to the local contact whose job it was to provide them with anything that they might need for their mission that was easier to source in the time period or couldn’t be taken with them. The alley itself was pretty nondescript, but the signs that they’d travelled through time were clear. For one, there were no satellite dishes or air conditioning units hanging off the side of the building, and the cars passing the end of the alley were vastly different than the ones that would be in present day LA. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, trying to burn off some of the excitement he always felt at the start of a new mission.

An hour or so later, they were all set up in their temporary base – a flat maintained by the Ministry for that exact purpose and had just finished finalising their plan to catch the time traveller. They’d identified spots around the speakeasy that each of them could stake out without standing out too much, but that would still mean at least one of them would see their target if he turned up. Past that it was mostly just a case of watch and wait. Stakeouts were one of Buck’s least favourite things about his job, but hopefully they wouldn’t actually be waiting too long.

“Let’s go track down a time traveller!” Buck shot both of his teammates a wide grin and held his fist out.

Hen and Chimney both knocked their own fists against his, before they left the flat and split up, figuring they’d all draw less attention on their own, and individually made their ways to the speakeasy.

*

Buck settled into his spot at the end of a back alley, leaning against the wall and opening up the newspaper he’d bought on his way. With his outfit, he knew it’d make him look like an office worker on his break, not an uncommon sight given the area they were in.

By the time he caught sight of their target, he was hot, bored, and feeling like he was about to go stir crazy despite having been on many stakeouts before. Keeping himself mostly hidden behind the newspaper that he’d put down and picked back up several times since he arrived, he watched as the man casually walked past and headed in the direction of the speakeasy, seemingly unconcerned about anything and unaware that he was being watched. Buck gave the man a few seconds, folded his newspaper and left it on the stack of crates he’d been propping up, and then stepped out of the alley to follow him. Moments later, the target stepped onto the street where the speakeasy was and where the team had planned to ambush him, if possible. Buck whistled in the way they’d arranged as the signal, drawing the man’s attention, and giving Buck his first proper look at him. The photo in the file didn’t have anything on the man in person, and Buck’s breath almost caught in his throat at how beautiful he was. A frown marred the man’s face as his gaze landed on Buck, and almost instantly he quickened his pace, not quite running towards the speakeasy but getting close to it. It was too late though, because Buck’s whistle had brought the others out of where they’d been loitering, and with almost perfect timing Hen and Chimney stepped out to box their target in. The man froze, glanced back over his shoulder to see Buck closing the distance between them rapidly, and then started looking around for an escape route.

Buck caught up to him and put a firm hand on his shoulder, ready in case the man tried to fight his way out but hoping it wouldn’t come to that. “We don’t want to hurt you, but we need to have a conversation.”

“Who are you?” The man asked, his soft Texan accent surprising Buck.

“We’re interested in an acquaintance of yours,” Chimney provided, sidestepping the question.

“We just want information,” Hen added, which while not strictly true was close enough in this precise moment of time. They wouldn’t arrest him until they knew for sure that he was a time traveller messing with history.

Buck used his grip on the man’s shoulder to steer him towards the alley Hen had come from, glad that he wasn’t fighting them (at least for now). It was definitely the sort of conversation they didn’t want anyone overhearing, and the four of them standing out in the middle of the street would definitely draw unwanted attention.

“What do you want?” The man was tense under Buck’s hand and looked like he was trying not to glower at them but wasn’t being especially successful.

“When was the last time you saw this man?” Once they were stopped in the alley out of sight of any passers-by, Chimney held out the drawing one of the sketch artists had done of the bootlegger.

Buck let his hand drop and stepped back, letting Chimney take the lead on questioning the man, but keeping an eye on him in case he attempted to make a run for it. The target glanced at the drawing and then his expression shuttered. Clearly, he knew something, but it seemed like he was unwilling to share, maybe thinking that they were revenue agents trying to shut down the speakeasy.

“Why should I tell you?” The man’s gaze flickered over Buck and Hen before focusing back on Chimney.

“Well, our captain won’t be very happy if we return without the information that we’re after,” Chimney stated, raising an eyebrow as to imply they all knew what that meant.

They would never hurt someone for information, but sometimes it was helpful if whoever they were talking to thought that they might, and they’d found that letting the person draw their own conclusions about what might happen often was more effective than actually threatening them.

There was a beat of silence while the target considered that before he frowned and folded his arms. “Two days ago. He’s dead.”

Buck sucked in a breath. That would certainly explain why Mr Levard wouldn’t be there to warn the owner of the speakeasy about the bust.

“And before you ask, I didn’t kill him.”

As Chimney started asking what had happened, Buck leant closer to Hen and asked in a low voice, “You think we should report back to Bobby that the dude’s dead?”

Apparently, he hadn’t been as quiet as he thought he’d been because the target’s attention snapped to him and he looked like he’d just put the missing pieces of a puzzle together.

“You-” The man’s gaze flicked between the three of them again, and then he uncrossed his arms, tapped his wristwatch twice and recited a familiar quote. “The beginning is always today.”

The action and the quote together were a passphrase of sorts in the ministry, to communicate to agents from other eras that you were also a ministry agent. There’d been no record of any other ministry missions in this specific time and place in their briefing file, implying that the man was likely from their future, but it didn’t explain why he was surprised to see them.

“Captain Bobby Nash?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” Buck didn’t think they’d done or said anything that should have given them away, although if the man was indeed from the ministry then he would be more likely to recognise little hints that wouldn’t even register to the average person. They definitely hadn’t said Bobby’s surname though, so he must know or know of their captain. Weird.

“You said captain but you’re clearly not military, you’re apparently here for the same reason I am, and then you said Bobby’s name.” The man explained with a faint smile, before sticking his hand out to Chimney. “Eddie Diaz, section 118, 2029.”

Chimney shook Eddie’s hand, the mood in the alley rapidly easing. “I’m Chimney, and this is Hen and Buck. We’re also section 118, but 2021.”

“Nice to meet you.” Hen gave him a smile and a little wave.

“Hey.” Buck was still running through the situation in his head, knowing that there must be some piece of information he was missing. He caught Eddie’s eye and stated, “You didn’t expect us to be here.”

Eddie shook his head, seemingly on the same wavelength as he went on to explain, “There was no record of anyone else being here when we got our briefing but given that things went to shit from the start, I’m not surprised there’s already been ripples. I assume that’s what y’all are here for?”

“Yup. Mr Levard not warning the owner of that speakeasy about the upcoming bust snowballs and leads to how prohibition pans out in LA changing. And you’re at the centre of it,” Chimney summarised.

Eddie scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed, before straightening up and settling his gaze on Chimney, correctly identifying him as the field leader. “What do you say to working together? I’ll brief you on what’s happened so far, and then maybe y’all can help me fix this mess.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Chimney nodded in agreement. “You got a team with you?”

“Not anymore.” Eddie made a face. “My partner got injured in the shootout that killed the bootlegger, so I sent them back to get treated.”

“Shit. They gonna be okay?” Chimney winced in sympathy.

“They’ll be out of commission for a few weeks, but they’ll be fine. Thank god.”

“We’ve got a flat a few blocks away. Shall we continue this there?” Hen suggested after a moment, waving her hand off behind her in the vague direction of the flat.

“Lead the way.” Eddie straightened up and shot her a brief smile.

*

A short while later, they were all sitting in the main room of the flat with a cafetiere of coffee brewing on the coffee table between them. Chimney and Hen had claimed the armchairs, leaving Buck and Eddie to share the sofa, and from the wink Hen had shot him Buck knew that was by design. Not that he was complaining.

“How about you start from the beginning, Eddie?” Chimney retrieved a notepad and pen from the drawer of the table and got ready to make notes.

“Sure. We got a report that Henry Levard was going to be caught up in an altercation between two gangs, so Javier and I were dispatched to monitor the situation and if necessary, to keep things on track.”

Buck leant against the armrest of the sofa with one foot tucked underneath him, so he could watch Eddie as he spoke. He forced himself to focus on Eddie’s report instead on how nice he was to look at, although there was a small part of his brain that was definitely still appreciating the view. The fact that they now knew that Eddie was a fellow agent and not a time criminal only made him more attractive to Buck, because it meant that there was a chance that something could happen between them. A small chance maybe, but a chance, nonetheless.

“We located the target and then monitored the situation from a distance, ready to intervene if needed, but when the fight happened, it escalated way quicker than we were expecting. We tried to get the guy out of there, but Javier took a bullet trying to protect him and then in the chaos, the guy tried to run for it and got shot in the head. It was all I could do to get Javier out of there.” Eddie scrubbed a hand through his hair, looking upset. Not that Buck could blame him. “I patched them up and got them back through the door, and ever since I’ve been trying to get the owner to trust me enough to accept me as Henry’s replacement.”

“So, you can warn them in his stead,” Hen guessed, making the logical assumption.

Eddie nodded. “But a single man they’ve not met before trying to take over… Ms Kisro hasn’t said outright, but I’m pretty certain she thinks I’m a revenue agent. Or at least a spy for them.”

They all fell silent for a few moments, thinking about the predicament and how they could solve it. Eddie’s wording prompted an idea to form in Buck’s brain, and he considered it for a little while before sitting up straight.

“I’ve got it!” Buck quickly glanced at his teammates to ensure he had their attention, but otherwise focused on Eddie. “We can’t do anything about the fact you’ve not met before, at least not without messing with the timeline further, but we can do something about you being single.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, waiting for Buck to continue.

“If you can introduce a partner to her, and make it believable… Well, it makes you a lot less likely to be a spy, right?”

“Revenue agents can have other halves too, y’know,” Chimney commented drily.

“Yeah, but they’re not likely to take their wives on a job that could be dangerous, are they?” Buck shot back.

Hen was in the middle of drinking coffee, but she jabbed a finger at Buck as if to say he had a point.

“Makes sense.” Eddie’s expression was considering as he glanced at the three of them.

Guessing what he was thinking about, Buck volunteered himself even if he just knew that Hen and Chimney were going to tease him about it. “I’ll do it. I’m the best at undercover work, and your partner being a man gives you a believable reason for hiding your relationship this long.”

“Might make Ms Kisro more comfortable if she thinks she’s got leverage over me too,” Eddie agreed. “I’ll send her a message asking if she’s willing to meet, and in the meantime, we can work on our backstory.”

“Hen and I can provide support, although I guess we’ll have to hold off on planning until we know when the meeting is going to be.” Chimney looked to already be jotting down ideas, even if they wouldn’t be able to finalise a plan quite yet.

“You’re going to need to practice.” Hen’s eyes were twinkling despite her expression being otherwise bland. Eddie might believe she was being fully serious, but Buck knew her well enough to tell that she was teasing.

“I’ve dated men before!” Buck protested, sticking his middle finger up at her.

Hen snickered, completely ignoring Buck flipping her off. “I meant being casually affectionate with each other. So it looks real.”

She might have a valid point, but Buck was still certain that she was gaining way more enjoyment from the situation than she would otherwise because she knew Eddie was very much Buck’s type. He hmphed, pointedly looked away, and then noticed that Eddie was watching the exchange with amusement. The corners of Eddie’s mouth curled up as he caught Buck’s gaze, but despite not knowing the man very well yet, Buck would’ve said that he was including Buck in the joke rather than laughing at him. Fuck. Hot and nice?

“Can I borrow that please?” Eddie gestured at the notebook Chimney was writing in. “I’ll send Ms Kisro a note asking to meet.”

“Go ahead.” Chimney pushed the notebook and pencil towards Eddie, who scooped up both.

He flicked to an empty page far enough through that there’d be no indentations of Chimney’s notes, and then scribbled a quick message, reading it aloud as he wrote. “AK. To hopefully allay your concerns, I would like to introduce you to my partner. If you agree, we will come to your establishment at a time of your convenience. ER.”

“What’s the R stand for?” Buck asked, watching Eddie fold up the note.

“Rojas. The name on my local papers.” Eddie stood up, tucking the note away in his pocket. “I’m going to sit outside a coffeehouse while I send the message and wait for a reply. Any of you want to come with, or shall I meet you back here later?”

“I can,” Buck offered, getting to his feet as well. “We can come up with a backstory while we’re waiting.”

Then he bit back a grin and reached out to touch a hand to Eddie’s elbow. “Darling.”

Chimney snorted and shooed them off. “Go. We’ll put together the basics of a plan.”

Buck just laughed and followed Eddie from the flat, grabbing his hat from the hat stand as they left.

*

“Okay, so we met at a gentlemen’s club.” Buck started making up their backstory, once they were settled outside the coffeehouse and he was sure that there was no-one listening in on their conversation. Making it sound like he was clearing his throat, he then added, “Gay bar.”

Eddie’s laugh was quiet but warm, earning himself another point in Buck’s mental tally of how likely he was to fall for the man. Given that the scale had essentially started at ‘pretty likely’, it was by now dangerously close to ‘definitely’. At least it would help sell their cover story, even if there wasn’t much chance of it leading anywhere, given that they were from different time periods.

“We had a passionate affair and now we share a ‘bachelor pad’ and have a cat called Mittens. You’re obviously a dastardly criminal, but I’m…” Buck trailed off, thinking about what a reasonable profession could be.

“A firefighter,” Eddie suggested. A small grin flitted across his face as he continued, “It would explain why you’re so fit.”

Buck preened at the comment, and grinned back. “Thank you for noticing. I work hard at it.”

The flirtatious banter was coming easily, and even though they weren’t touching each other at all, given the public setting, Buck thought that affectionate touches would seem just as natural. They’d been chatting on the short walk to the coffeehouse and instantly clicked. In fact, regardless of this seemingly mutual attraction that was developing and even though they’d only just met, Buck knew he was going to miss Eddie’s friendship when the mission was over, and they all returned home. He pushed the thought away and concentrated on their conversation, enjoying it while he could.

Half an hour or so later, the kid that Eddie had paid to take the message to Ms Kisro returned, holding out another note and looking hopeful. Eddie thanked him and took the note, quickly scanning it before passing it to Buck and turning his attention back to the kid.

“I don’t need to send a reply, but here’s a tip.” He dropped a few coins into the kid’s hand before waving him off.

“You know where to find me if you need to send another message!” The kid called out just before he ran off.

“Ha! It worked!” Buck grinned triumphantly at Eddie when they were alone again, pleased that his idea had been successful. Or at least, successful enough to get them a meeting.

“It was a good idea.” Eddie gave him a smile in return, finishing off the dregs of his coffee before pushing his chair back. “Shall we?”

*

The next day found Buck and Eddie dressing in the nicest outfits they could put together in preparation for their trip to the bar. They’d spent the last day and a bit in each other’s company, sharing the level of casual affection that was usually reserved for real couples to get themselves used to it. Even though it was all for show, Buck couldn’t help enjoying it anyway. He was a naturally affectionate person, and not having to hold back around someone he liked was refreshing. The fact that he was definitely falling for Eddie only made it better.

Buck frowned at his tie in the mirror, failing to get it to sit straight no matter how he tried.

“Here, let me.” Eddie came up behind him and put both hands on his shoulders to spin him around. Then he stepped in close and neatened and tweaked the tie until he was satisfied.

“Bobby taught me to tie a tie when I first joined the Ministry,” Buck admitted quietly, not wanting to break the intimate moment.

“He’s a good man.” Eddie’s hands stilled on Buck’s tie, but he didn’t let go. “When I joined his team, I’d have been lost without him and his wife.”

“Wife?” Buck’s first thought was that Bobby’s wife was dead, but his second was that Eddie was from eight years in the future so presumably at some point in the next eight years, Bobby got remarried. “Wait, no. As much as I want to know, I’m not asking.”

“Oops. Pretend I said nothing.” Eddie chuckled, realising his slipup but not seeming too bothered by it. He let go of Buck’s tie and stepped back so Buck could check his reflection. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

Happy with his tie at last, Buck let his gaze travel over Eddie, obviously checking him out. The light grey suit hugged him nicely, and the dark red tie and checked waistcoat added a touch of colour. He looked the epitome of a 1920s gentleman, and if he had the chance, Buck would love to peel all those layers off him. As their date wasn’t real however, the chance was slim.

“Looking good.” He winked, gleefully pleased when Eddie completed the common exchange.

“You don’t brush up too badly yourself.”

Buck’s outfit was a little simpler – a dark grey checked suit paired with a blue tie, but he knew he pulled it off well.

At that point, Hen stuck her head into the room. “You boys ready yet?”

“Yep!” Buck turned his grin on her, before bounding out into the main room.

A while later, once they’d all gone over the plan, Buck and Eddie made their way to the speakeasy. They’d agreed that Hen and Chimney also going inside could draw unwanted attention, as two more new people on the same night that Eddie was bringing his ‘partner’ could seem suspicious, but Buck felt comfortable enough knowing that they’d be just outside in case anything went wrong. Eddie led the way inside, beelining for the bar and the woman stood chatting to the bartender as soon as they entered.

“Ms Kisro, good evening.” Eddie drew her attention as he approached, and at a wave of her hand, the bartender wandered off, leaving the three of them alone.

“Mr Rojas.” Ms Kisro surveyed Buck, eyes alight with curiosity and thankfully not looking like she was going to set her bouncer on them. “I presume this is your partner?”

“Yes. Please allow me to present Buck Franklin.” Eddie was doing a fairly good job at pretending to be nervous but trying to hide it.

Like Eddie, Buck was keeping his first name (or well in his case, his nickname) but using a fake surname. It was probably unnecessary given that their real names wouldn’t lead back to them anyway, but there was no harm in being careful.

“How do you do!” Ms Kisro nodded her head towards him and then gestured towards a table off in one corner. “Please sit. I’ll have drinks brought over.”

Buck and Eddie went and sat at the indicated table while Ms. Kisro exchanged a few words with the bartender. The table was small enough that Buck could press his knee against Eddie’s, and he touched Eddie’s elbow briefly as he made a comment about their surroundings, although he dropped his hand as soon as Ms Kisro joined them. All part of the act.

“You don’t have to hide here.” She commented as she sat down, flicking her gaze over them and then across the rest of the bar. “No-one here will say anything.”

Buck and Eddie glanced at each other, pretending to have a wordless conversation, although of course they’d already planned out how they were going to act.

Eddie nodded at her in acknowledgement. “Thank you.”

A short while later, the bartender brought over a tray of club sodas, all garnished with mint leaves to make them look fancy even if there was, of course, no alcohol in the drinks. The speakeasy hidden in the wine cellar was a different matter, but up here while Eddie was still trying to win Ms Kisro’s trust, there was no alcohol to be found.

After a little small talk and chance for all of them to sip their drinks, Ms Kisro turned to Buck. “What do you do, Mr Franklin?”

“I’m a firefighter.”

“Interesting. Not what I would have expected. I’m assuming that you being here this evening means you know about Mr Rojas’ choice of employment?”

“I do. And I’m aware why I’m here.” Buck gave her a small smile, reassuring her that they could speak openly. Or at least as openly as the situation would allow.

“I see. How did the two of you meet?” Ms Kisro directed that question more at the two of them, but Buck answered anyway.

“At a gentlemen’s club.” He stressed the word gentlemen in a way that he was sure she’d pick up his meaning from. Taking Eddie’s hand in his, he squeezed it and gave Eddie a fond look, before continuing, “We got talking at the bar one night, and then before we knew it, we realised we’d spent the entire evening talking to no-one but each other. I knew he was the one that very day.”

“How romantic.” Ms Kisro had a small smile on her face, and the expression seemed genuine. Either she was a particularly good actress or Buck was winning her over.

“I took a little more convincing, but I’ll be forever glad we got that chance.” Eddie lifted their joined hands so he could press a soft kiss to Buck’s, keeping eye contact the entire time.

They let go and looked back at their host just as she asked, “How long have you been together then?”

Looking back, Buck blamed that minor distraction for the one point they weren’t perfectly in sync. Both he and Eddie replied at the same time.

“Two years.”

“A year and a half.”

Ms Kisro frowned, Buck and Eddie glanced at each other, and for a heart stopping moment it seemed like they might have blown it.

Buck had always been a quick thinker though, so he let out a hearty laugh. “I count it from the day we met, which will be two years next week, but Eddie counts it from the day we moved in together and made it official.”

“That was when we promised ourselves to each other, which makes it a more important date to remember,” Eddie added, delivering it in such a fondly exasperated way that Buck himself was half convinced that it was the bickering of an old married couple.

Ms Kisro seemed to have relaxed again, so Buck took the opportunity to steer the conversation onto safer topics.

An hour or so later, Ms Kisro stood up and excused herself. “I’m afraid I have other business to attend to, but I believe we can work together, Mr Rojas.”

She offered her hand to Eddie, and they shook on it with Buck smiling happily at Eddie’s side, both as a supportive partner and a pleased agent.

“Mr Franklin, I’m glad we had the pleasure of your company tonight, and I do hope it won’t be the last we see of you!” She nodded her head at Buck. “Stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you. Your bar is lovely.” Buck smiled as she turned and left them to it but made sure not to let up on the pretence that he and Eddie were a couple.

They finished their drinks slowly and then Eddie asked, “Shall we retire for the night, darling?”

Buck grinned at his use of the same pet name Buck had teased Eddie with the previous day. “Yes, let’s. I’m in a mood to have you all to myself.”

They retrieved their hats and stepped out into the cool evening air, strolling off down the street as if there was no urgency and they hadn’t a care in the world.

Partway down a backstreet, and almost back to their rendezvous point with Hen and Chimney, Buck suddenly became convinced they were being followed. He slowed his pace, glanced around as if checking the coast was clear, and then just as Eddie was turning to see what was happening, Buck reached for his wrist and tugged him close.

“Eddie,” He said in a low voice that was almost a purr. “There’s no-one around and I can’t keep my hands off you for a moment longer.”

He pushed Eddie against the wall and whispered in an undertone, “We’re being followed.”

Eddie’s hands came up to settle on Buck’s hips, just as Buck leant in to press a kiss to Eddie’s neck, giving Eddie a clear view of the street without it being too obvious. “Can you see who it is?”

Letting out a quiet, appreciative noise, Eddie leant his head back to give Buck more room as he presumably scanned the way they’d come from. After a moment or two, he reached up to tangle one hand in Buck’s hair and pull his head up, so their noses were almost touching. Against Buck’s lips he murmured, “It’s one of Ms Kisro’s men. I’ve seen him loitering around the bar before.”

“Making sure we really are going home together I guess.” Buck kissed the corner of Eddie’s mouth, making it look from a distance like they were making out while still enabling them to whisper to each other.

The knowledge that one wrong move could ruin the whole mission was enough of a mood dampener to keep Buck from having an inappropriate response, but he was aware in the back of his mind that if they had to keep it up for much longer, the shock would wear off and he would definitely start having a physical reaction to pressing an extremely attractive man against a wall.

“I’ve got a room not too far away. We should go there for the night, so we don’t lead him to the safehouse.” Eddie mouthed along Buck’s jaw between words, both hands now up in Buck’s hair.

“Good idea. I think that’s been long enough, so let’s go.” Buck pulled back enough to look Eddie in the eye, barely even having to pretend to be breathing hard.

Eddie replied by pushing Buck away, grabbing his wrist and tugging him down the street, speaking just loud enough that their shadow would be able to hear. “Home, bed, now.”

They hurried down the street, Eddie dropping Buck’s wrist just before they stepped out onto the main street, and then looped around the block. Given Eddie’s theoretical profession, hopefully it wouldn’t be weird for him to be taking a somewhat circuitous route home. Buck didn’t know whether it was coincidence or whether Eddie had led him that way on purpose, but a couple of minutes later, they passed where Chimney was sitting in a doorway pretending to be asleep. Buck crouched down and pretended to be tying his shoelace a couple of metres away and whispered as quietly as he could, “We’re being followed so we’re going back to Eddie’s room for the night. See you in the morning.”

Chimney didn’t appear to respond other than to make a soft snoring noise, but Buck caught out of the corner of his eye the so-brief as to be almost non-existent thumbs up he made by his side. Message received. Shoelace ‘retied’, Buck straightened up and hurried to catch up with Eddie.

The journey to Eddie’s room was otherwise uneventful, and when Eddie snuck a glance out of the window a while after they’d arrived, the man following them seemed to have disappeared.

*

The next morning, Eddie returned to the speakeasy to pass on some bottles of rum to Ms Kisro as an initial ‘taster’. There was no mention of Buck and Eddie’s shadow from their journey home from either party, so Buck could only assume going home together had convinced Ms Kisro that their story was true. Eddie was now theoretically in the progress of getting a full shipment, although given that they planned on getting out of 1922 as soon as he had warned her about the bust, that wasn’t actually the case. Instead, Hen and Chimney were keeping an eye on the speakeasy from a distance, and Buck and Eddie were mostly just hanging out in the flat. They’d both typed up their reports of their missions so far, and Buck was pretending he wasn’t jealous of Eddie’s futuristic laptop. They weren’t meant to allow people from the past to see future tech or learn anything about the future, but there was some leeway allowed when it came to fellow agents. Given their jobs, they were trusted to not do anything to jeopardise the timeline.

Buck was also trying to make the most of the little time he had left to spend with Eddie. Due to their necessary close quarters since the meeting, he’d decided not to make a move just in case Eddie turned him down and it ended up being awkward. Instead, he was just enjoying spending time with the other agent. They’d discovered that they both had a similar taste in films, so a lot of their time was spent watching Z-list horror films on Buck’s laptop and laughing at them. In between films, they’d also talked about their lives (aside from anything from Eddie’s that could count as ‘future knowledge’) which was how Buck learnt that Eddie had a son but that the boy’s mother was out of the picture. And then Buck had fallen in love all over again, when Eddie showed him a photo of Chris and made it obvious that the kid was the centre of his world. When he thought that, he realised that oops, yeah, he had definitely fallen hard for Eddie. Love might be a stretch given that they’d not known each other long, but he definitely liked him an awful lot. Saying goodbye was going to suck.

Then all of a sudden it was the day that everything was meant to go down. Eddie went through the motions that Henry Levard was meant to have taken, while the other three waited with bated breath back at the flat. Buck had wanted to stay close in case something went wrong, but they’d agreed as a group that it would be safer if as few of them as possible were anywhere near the speakeasy. Pacing up and down the living room, Buck knew he was getting on his friends’ nerves, but he couldn’t help himself. For the sake of everyone’s sanity, thankfully not too long later there was a knock at the door that was their agreed signal, and then Eddie let himself inside.

“It’s done! The speakeasy is cleared out and Ms Kisro thinks I was arrested in the aftermath.” He grinned at Buck, held eye contact for a few beats too long, and then clapped him on the shoulder before turning to include the other two. “Thank you again for all your help. It was great working with y’all, and well, I don’t want to say I couldn’t have done it without you, but your presence definitely made it easier.”

“You turning out to be a fellow agent definitely made our mission easier.” Chimney laughed, standing up and crossing the room to shake Eddie’s hand.

Hen followed and gave Eddie a hug, before stepping back and smiling in a way that looked entirely too innocent for Buck’s liking. “We’ve enjoyed working with you too, especially a certain someone.”

She looked significantly at Buck, and then laughed and retreated to the bedroom before Buck could say anything in return.

“Right, let’s get packed up and out of here.” Chimney swept the few things off the coffee table and followed Hen.

Buck glanced over his shoulder to check Hen and Chimney had started packing up their kit in the other room, before throwing caution to the wind and stepping closer to Eddie so that they were almost, but not quite, touching. “If this is the last that we’re likely to see of each other, how about a goodbye kiss?”

“I think I could be persuaded.” Eddie’s eyes twinkled, and then as Buck pressed even closer, fluttered closed.

Buck pressed his lips against Eddie’s, sinking into the kiss. It started out chaste but soon deepened, Buck bringing one hand up to cradle the back of Eddie’s head and tilting it slightly to get a better angle. Eddie’s hands had settled on Buck’s waist, but as Buck pressed him against the back of the sofa, they began to wander, sneaking up under Buck’s shirt.

It was a good few minutes before they pulled apart, and only then because one of the other two had sent something crashing to the floor in the other room.

“We should probably pack too,” Buck murmured. He stole a quick kiss and then forced himself away before he kissed Eddie again.

Eddie just smiled and watched him go, looking thoroughly mussed and like the cat that got the cream.

A short while later, the four of them left the flat, locking it behind them and going their separate ways. Eddie headed deeper into the neighbourhood, back to the door that would take him to 2029, while Buck, Hen, and Chimney returned to the door they’d originally come through. Chimney handed the key to the flat and a few other bits and pieces that would stay in the time period to Espo, the local contact, and then they left 1922 behind them. The post mission debriefing was all that was left between them and a weekend off.

*

Well rested and pretending he wasn’t missing Eddie’s company, Buck returned to work two days later in mostly good spirits. He’d checked in with Maddie, and she was settling in well and had been excited by Buck’s recounting of his mission. The fact that he could talk to her whenever he wanted, and about work, nonetheless, he could scarcely believe. He was just so glad to have his sister back.

After a workout and some breakfast, Buck joined Hen and Chimney to report to Bobby’s office for a new mission briefing. Hen knocked on the door and pushed it open without waiting for an answer, leading them into the office. There was a dark-haired man sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk, who twisted to look at them as they entered. Buck blamed that fact that this was the last place he expected to see him for the fact he hadn’t instantly recognised him, completely ignoring Bobby’s ‘good morning’ to stare.

“Eddie?!”

“Clearly you’ve already met, but I’d like to introduce you to your newest team member.” Bobby’s smile was warm but also touched with a hint of amusement, probably from successfully surprising the three of them. “Eddie’s transferred from the 2029 ministry and seeing how well you all worked together on the Levard mission, I’m assigning him to your team permanently.”

“Hey y’all.” Eddie stood up to greet them.

“Welcome to the team,” Chimney said with a grin, clapping Eddie on the shoulder.

“Nice to see you again,” Hen added, leaning past Chimney to shake Eddie’s hand.

Buck beamed at Eddie as their gazes met, feeling the spark they’d had in 1922 and excited to see where it would take them. “It’s gonna be great.”

The briefing otherwise went as normal, ending with Bobby once again welcoming Eddie to 2021.

“I’ll show Eddie around,” Buck offered as they left Bobby’s office afterwards. “We’ll meet you downstairs in a couple of hours.”

Hen and Chimney nodded and went their separate ways to get ready, leaving Buck and Eddie alone in the hallway.

Buck turned to Eddie and demanded, although clearly delighted about it, “What are you doing here?”

Eddie gave him a slow, heated smirk. “After a goodbye like that, I couldn’t not come and see how a hello compared.”

And well, Buck didn’t want to disappoint Eddie right off the bat, so he dragged him into a dark corner and proceeded to kiss the living daylights out of him, thoroughly saying ‘hello’.

It really was going to be great.

**Author's Note:**

> The passphrase Eddie uses is a quote from Mary Shelley.


End file.
